Frenkie visits a Sikh temple

Last week I had the opportunity to visit a temple of the Sikh's in The Hague. I have to confess to my shame that I really didn't know anything about the Sikh faith and so I went to the temple completely blank. I did know from the internet that I had to dress in such a way that my arms and legs were covered. There I would get a cloth to cover my head (hair). The men do this with a turban or simply a cloth. A very nice and helpful gentleman there showed me the way where I could take off my shoes, where I could wash my hands and then he knotted, I had to kneel before him because I am tall and he was small, an orange cloth around my head. Later I noticed that the men there either have a real Sikh turban on their head, and they happened to have a long and unshaven beard. Or there were men who went through life without a head covering in everyday life and who then wore such a headscarf tied up on the spot and these man usually did not have a beard or a short shaved beard, often young people.

    

Sikhism is a monotheistic religion. This means that one believes in one God. Sikhism originated in northern India in the early 16th century, started by the first teacher Guru Nanak Dev. It is an independent faith inspired by Hinduism and Islam but it has its own religious identity. The doctrines are laid down in the Guru Granth Sahib. This is the Holy Book for the Sikhs (Wiki).

All the men sat on one side and all the women, in the most beautiful robes and headscarves, in all the colours of the rainbow, sat on the other side. And fortunately we had a large screen in front of us where the text, sung by the Granthi (“pastor”), appeared in Punjabi (I understood later) and English. In the front of the large room was a kind of altar, under a skylight of daylight, covered with cloths and on the altar a big book with The Holy Word of God. That's all.

I found everything equally pleasant, friendly, open, hospitable and I experienced the atmosphere in the temple as incredibly serene. There seemed to be a great simplicity, with few rituals, and everything was focused on the word of God. What was that word of God then? I got a random text from the internet, which matches the many lyrics that were sung and mentioned in the temple that morning. I liked them very much, for sure actually always referring to: God is in us and we can communicate with God and try to live according to God's example. 

Well all the way to the atmosphere of the blogspot. An example:

Those who have the Lord as their Friend and Companion

tell me, what else do they need?

Those who are in love with the Lord of the Universe

pain, suffering and doubt run away from them.

 

jaa kaa meeth saajan hai sameeaa

this jan ko kahu kaa kee kameeaa|

jaa kee preeth gobi(n)dh sio laagee

dhookh dharadh bhram thaa kaa bhaagee.

 

(this Shabad is by Guru Arjan Dev Ji, in Raag Gauree, at Pannaa 186)

While I am in the service, I wonder if this religion is not one of the pure forms of religion on earth and is partly a forerunner of a time when churches and pastors have been abolished and religion is becoming a most individual communication between God (in man) and man?  I definitely hope to come back again.  

Would You like to comment on this?

My son, let us not judge whether one religion is purer and better than another, people are only going to get away with that.  

The Sikh faith is a reaction to the great richness of the Hindu faith and has adopted elements of Islam. So far. 

I would like to mention four important elements in this blog. Everyone can thinks his own.

ü  The most individual relationship between man and God in man. 

     Guru Nanak has laid the foundation for a pure tradition of seeking God, namely the living and approachable God in man.

ü  The search for the simplicity of life.

     The Sikh faith has nurtured the direct impact of religion on ordinary life and how that life should be lived all these centuries. Many cultural rituals and prejudices have been tried to be eliminated. Everything for man's individual relationship with God. Everything else is secondary. 

ü  The great respect for women and the equality of men and women.

Guru Nanak's assertion that the soul of the man and the soul of the woman are equal has meant that in everyday practice the Sikhs always went back to this core truth, when the sexes seemed to clash culturally.

ü  Room for devotion in everyday life.

Of course, every religion has the desire to inspire and influence ordinary life. That aspiration is everywhere. The Sikhs have succeeded in translating this into ordinary life in the purest way. How one deals with one's own life, with one's fellow man, with the responsibilities in society, with nature. This was and is always done with a lot of respect, a lot of attention and a lot of wisdom. 

 You have enjoyed yourself in this meeting. Go back again. 

And the aforementioned Shabad, the text of Guru Arjan Dev Ji, isn't that exactly what We have together, My son?

The Sikhs are blessed.  

 

My blessings to you all

No 556

The difficulties seem to overpower us

My God, may I ask You?

I find life becoming more and more difficult, not because of my personal situation, for I am a happy person. But I also see it in people around me. There are so many concerns about the war, about the economy, about the environment, about the negative impact of the Internet on youth, about so on. I see that people are brooding, suffering from melancholy, looking up the future, expecting disasters. And so do I.

How do we keep this up?

And the farmer just ploughed on, your father told his family when there were difficulties and he saw that you were slogging too much into it. And that's what I'm saying to you now. You just have to keep going and I can't reassure you. It gets worse. 

And My only advice is: try to live as healthy as possible physically and mentally. Try to keep your inner peace. In the meantime, try to enjoy the beautiful things in life. And try to prepare yourselves for the worst thing that can happen to a human being such as disease, hunger, despair, sorrow, fear and destruction. Then it may not be so bad in your own life.

Have faith, have patience, be prepared because you do know neither day nor hour, live in the here and now, cherish beautiful memories and do not wallow too much in fear and worry. Live, live in the meantime, and comfort yourself with the words that the farmer just ploughed on. Great wisdom, great insight, great experience. Because that is what you have to do. Just keep going. Anyway.    

And in all cases, after your short-lived life of beauty and happiness, of uncertainty and difficulty, of opportunity and risk, a glorious life after physical death awaits you. Trust that. 

My blessings to you all

No 555

God helps you out

God's promises are like the stars; the darker the night the brighter they shine. (David Nicholas)

Would You like to comment on this? 

How could it be otherwise?

The good God cherishes you day and night, the spiritual world wants nothing more than to protect you, support you, care for you, reach out to you, love you. And especially when you are in need and think you are on your own and feel lonely and abandoned, We literally do everything We can to protect and cherish you.

The deeper a person is in trouble and suffers and despairs,

ü  the more beautiful the helping hand that God offers,

ü  the more powerful the support,

ü  the more loving the guide,

ü  the greater the impact,

ü  the finer the energy offered.

 

And if you are very honest with yourselves, you must admit that you always immediately experience the support and the power sent.

The Catholics rightly say: "God makes the back for the burden".

David Nicholas is blessed. 

 

My blessings to you all

No 554 

 

Jubilee, twelve years of revelations

Around 190,000 visits from more than 100 countries. Where am I after reveiving about 550 blogs in twelve years? So twelve years ago today, It began. It's what. Why don't I just call it messages and use the word revelation now?

Well, good question. I don't know the answer although when I read a blog again I am always impressed by the original, the simple, the uplifting or the amazing of the content. Just revelation.

And I stand by the statement in one of the first blogs (October 22, 2011) that the truth does not exist on earth and that there are gaps, errors and subjectivities in every revelation. I understood a maximum of 90 % truth. Well fortunately. If it ever turns out that there are serious errors in these blogs, I can say:

"Hey hello, I'm just a human, a messenger. My God is innocent, I just didn't listen hard enough, or I was in a groove on that subject, or I had a blind spot." 

In short, let everyone see for themselves what they do with the texts. I did my best.

I had resolved to quit after 12 years. Hasn't it been enough? Isn't it becoming a habit? Doesn't the concept get a little worn out? Hasn't everything been said? Shouldn't I do something else? Isn't it just getting stale?

Hey hey, it's something, and a female friend told me when I suggested it: "Frenkie, how can you say that, every blog is a great thing, a grace, a not obvious revelation. How can you say, stale? Aren't you a little too complacent about what you're going through here?"

And maybe she has a point. Maybe I should squeeze my skin and be surprised again at what is happening here. 

Would You like to  comment on this?

My son, I want so.

Your female friend is right. You have become complacent, you take everything for granted. You have come to think that everything is very ordinary, and no longer realize that you live under a great grace and are very blessed as a human being and that you are chosen. Yes, I use that word consciously. And obviously do not take life for granted, certainly it isn't. But that applies to the whole life of all people.

In that respect, you are just like all other 7.8 billion people. You take a lot for granted, which is not. Your health, your food, the abundant water, the functioning of your body and the beauty of nature. And by no means self-evident is the service of the spiritual world to your small and simple consciousness. You are living in a great miracle of grace and blessing.

And I ask you, My little friend, what do you want? To go on without Me, without My words, without sharing them with your fellow man? Do you think that will make you happy? Are you going to develop other hobbies, more fun hobbies perhaps. Do you have any wishes about changes to God's plans for man? Any suggestions?

By the way, don't think that this beautiful life task is a hobby of yours.  

Ah, My God, I say no more. I'm sorry. Behold Your servant. 

Be blessed, My overconfident child. Just go on.  

My blessings to you all

No 553

The message of Ascension Day: we are pilgrims

My God, may I ask You?

Today in church during the sermon I heard these words. Although I haven't taken any notes, so I can't quote the priest* verbatim, it comes down to this:

The message of the Lord's Ascension is that we are pilgrims. We are on our way, we are in this world, but not of this world. Man has the promise of Christ that He will always be with us until the end of the world. But that man must regard this whole world as a place of pilgrimage, that we must not lose ourselves in the delusions of the day, that we are on our way, and that the promise of Christ is that spiritual life, eternal life, is the goal.

It is precisely during this period that it touches me very much. Around me and in myself, I see us losing ourselves in the fears and anxieties of life, the war in Ukraine, the destruction of the environment, the discord in society, and so on. And suddenly through these words of the monsignor that we are pilgrims, I make contact with You again, with the example of Christ, with the promise of eternal life. I realize again that this earthly valley of tears, which lasts only a maximum of 90 years for every human being, is only a path and not the goal. My heart is touched in this sermon, in this mass, and I reconnect with our real purpose on earth: never, ever forget that we are children of God, that an eternal and special life awaits us, that all this is only temporary and that we must remember it every time. 

Would You like to comment on this?

My son, man is a pilgrim, life on earth is only a beginning. The promise of the beauty, happiness, and perfection of eternal life make up for everything, truly everything you experience in difficulties, misery, and sorrows. Once you have arrived in the spiritual world after this temporary and brief phase on earth, all negativity, all sadness, all imperfections, all blockages are swept away. And your long and beautiful path is then perfectly paved to the house of God.

Ascension Day is the most beautiful holiday on earth. The Christ has lived for your future, lifted up the earth, paved the way to eternal life. The son of God has triumphed over the evil forces on earth and belittled them, enslaved them, dealt them a very great blow. Ascension Day is the greatest success experience of the greatest spiritual being that the earth has ever visited and was truly a great sacrifice. A son of God who immerses Himself in man and is willing to become the son of men. 

Great commission, great task, great sacrifice. 

And the priest calls you to remember that on this day.   

The monsignor is blessed.  

My blessings to you all

*Monsignor Ad van Luyn, Emeritus Bishop of Rotterdam

No 552

How does one actually pray?

My God, may I ask You. I personally notice that people struggle with prayer and what they can and cannot ask for, especially when it comes to war, difficulties and misery. A friend said to me, "I'm not going to ask God to take care of me when I'm struggling, just like God doesn't take care of me though and like I'm rebuking God." Well, then I ask You, I of course want to respond to that.

Respond first, my son. 

I said to her, no matter how hard your life is at the moment, and how you pray or what you pray for, in all cases you open even more of a window to the spiritual world through which the spiritual world can better reach you. And God is certainly not offended if you ask “take care of me”, and will not say "Am I not already doing enough?"

Kind of.

So it is, my son, and although there is much to say about it, and in the blogs the subject of prayer has been discussed before, and some things may be repeated endlessly, this is it. 

When a person prays, he opens a window to the spiritual world, and thereby the spiritual world can serve him better, reach him better, influence him more strongly, achieve more than if a person does not pray.

And that is not because God does not know exactly when what is needed on earth, but because man, from his free will, then contributes more to the cooperation between God and man. Prayer is strengthening this cooperation. Shorter and better and more powerful We can't bring it. So you have spoken to your female friend well and honestly and purely. Keep up the good work, my Son. 

My blessings to you all

No 551

The love for fellowmen

My God, a columnist in my newspaper* wrote:

 "Blessed are those who have people around who suffer from their suffering"

Well, this man is a rabid atheist who can't resist fulminating against faith. At the same time, as a nursing home doctor, he has a very big heart and a lot of love for fellow human beings. And writes beautifully about  life and suffering of man and he does so with great compassion. This article is about the suffering person and ways to relieve or shorten that suffering. And he ends with this sentence, which really moved me.

Would You like to comment on this?

My son, I love to. For the spiritual world loves people who have their hearts in the right place and are listening to it as much as possible. This doctor witnesses a lot of suffering and especially among sick and old people. And because he does not believe, he seeks comfort insofar as there is in earthly and human matters. And this is one.  

"Blessed are those who have people around them who suffer from their suffering"

The man who is allowed to experience this in his suffering experiences the love of people who care about him. A great good and a great happiness, which not everyone has. There are many people suffering who have no one who feels sorry for them.

Yet this can also be a merit of that person himself: if one gives a lot of love to one's fellow man, one may also be able to get a lot of love back in need. 

And there's another important thing this columnist isn't working on. One can also sympathize and pity someone by praying. And especially people who have no one and yet suffer can benefit greatly from people who pray for them.  

And fortunately, there are also many people on earth who pray for the suffering man in general and thus leave it to the spiritual world for whom that prayer is then intended. And in previous blogs I have already explained 

(see https://watchthegod-english.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-influence-of-praying-on-world-and_30.html)

 that it is not the case that God only takes action when prayers are offered. But more that prayer creates an extra channel through which the spiritual world can mean more to those on earth who need it.

In response to a quote from an atheist columnist, God says: give love to the other. And I also say: pray, pray, pray, even if it is for strangers, for disasters or unknown misery. Each prayer is an additional tool for the spiritual world to relieve and to  support earthly man.

And for those who pray may know: every prayer is a flower on your path after death to your spiritual destiny. 

Blessed is Bert Keizer.  

My blessings to you all.

No 550

 

*Bert Keizer, Trouw, 31 March 2023